The present invention relates generally to the framing and covering of walls, ceilings and floors in new construction and in the remodeling of buildings and, more particularly, to relatively simple shaped attachments and devices to straighten and square support members such as studs, joists and rafters forming walls, floors, ceilings or window and door openings in the framing for such new construction or in buildings being remodeled and the method for using such attachments and devices so that at least one face of a plurality of such support members can be aligned with each other to establish and provide a common, straight and level application plane for affixing any desired exterior finishing members such as paneling, wallboard, sheetrock, floor and ceiling tile, flooring and the like thereto.
During the construction of buildings or in the remodeling of buildings, more particularly in residential buildings, those skilled in the art know that during the framing of buildings, the studs and joists are usually spaced about 16xe2x80x3 on centers, and double studs or joists are set up around window, door and other openings to provide strength and support for the building and for providing the desired plane for affixing an exterior finishing surface thereon. The construction industry has found that the support members, generally wooden studs, joists and rafters which form the application surfaces to which exterior finishing members are attached, while still structurally sound, tend to become warped, bowed and twisted so that a plurality of such studs, joists and rafters cannot provide the common, flat and level application plane preferred for affixing such exterior finishing members.
Various methods have been developed to meet and overcome this problem. For example, measurements are taken and string lines placed transversely across a plurality of such support members to determine the misalignment that exists for the formation of an application surface by such plurality of studs or joists so that misaligned studs or joists can be removed and replaced with new wooden studs, joists or rafters, as the case may be, for a wall, floor or ceiling. Generally, this process is expensive because it requires the services of two fairly skilled carpenters until a straight and level application surface is established.
In the above example, those skilled in the art will recognize that wooden studs or joists are heavy and bulky, must be purchased, loaded into and transported in a suitable vehicle, unloaded at the side of the building, and held into position while being fastened to the upper header and lower plates associated with the other studs, joists or rafters. If the studs, joists or rafters are not properly aligned, which is often difficult to determine until the studs or joists are in position, then the nails fastening the incorrectly aligned new studs, joists or rafters must be removed and the stud realigned and refastened once again, all at additional cost and expense to the construction company.
Another factor which compounds replacement of such support members is the force of gravity which is always acting on the overall integrity of the building and, more particularly, on those support members such as the wooden stud or joist being replaced while there is nothing to hold it while replacement is in progress, other than an additional carpenter or carpenter""s helper.
Another method for overcoming this problem is described in an article entitled Straightening Framed Walls by Henry Derek McDonald, which appeared in the August/September 2000 issue of Fine Home Building. In this article the wooden studs and joists are planed or furred or replaced or, if not replaceable, are xe2x80x9cstrong-backedxe2x80x9d to establish the straight and level application surface for the exterior finishing members.
Other methods for achieving this end are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,477,187; 4,227,360; 5,662,310 and 5,822,942. Additionally, devices for replacing or for modifying studs are also shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,466,225 and 5,440,848.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,942 to Lucia Jr. shows a U-shaped device for straightening warp, twisted, improperly installed or inaccurately aligned studs, joists and rafters and an involved method for forming a common planar mounting surface for exterior finishing members which utilizes a plurality of these U-shaped devices applied to a corresponding plurality of studs, joists or rafters.
In the straightening function of the U-shaped device, for a given stud, joist or rafter, the common reference point for attaching the exterior finishing material is for example the forward corner 56 of the front angled face of the given warped stud 16xe2x80x2 shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings in Patent ""942. The U-shaped device is adjustably positioned on the stud 16xe2x80x2 using this reference point and then fastened to the stud in its adjusted position. However, this does and will not give the desired planar mounting surface in a common plane with a multiplicity of other studs, required for properly affixing the exterior finishing members to the plurality of studs, joists or rafters defining a wall, floor or ceiling in a building.
Where a plurality of studs, joists or rafters need to be aligned to achieve the required planar mounting surface for the exterior finishing members, Pat. ""942 provides an additional bar 60 which is first threadably affixed to the outer sections 34 for each of the respective U-shaped devices for an associated plurality of studs, joists or rafters which in the aligned or plumbed position are then affixed to their associated studs, joists or rafters to establish the planar mounting surface in a common plane required to properly affix the exterior finishing members over a plurality of studs, joists or rafters. This method of achieving the planar mounting surface with a common plane creates the very same problems of the prior art as above described by increasing the steps for establishing the planar mounting surface, the number of people required, the time and the need for calculations to achieve the common plane for the planar mounting surface. More important this method and the device used do not address the problem of a wall with a multiplicity of studs where some studs are misaligned because they are warped from side to side or twisted or bowed into or away from the room or space.
The prior art methods are often beneficial to old ceilings or floors because the addition of new wooden joists or metal replacement elements lends strength to the existing structure. It has been found, however, in the construction industry that even with new wooden studs and joists or replacement elements therefor, it is very difficult, without almost totally demolishing the old existing structure, to obtain the desired straight and level application plane on which to install and affix the exterior finishing members for a given room or space in the building.
Thus, using these known prior art processes, it has been found that a normal 12xe2x80x2xc3x9717xe2x80x2 bedroom requires the labor of two men for two work days, and the equipment of a truck/trailer for hauling the replacement studs, joists and/or rafters, wood saws, nail guns, air compressor, sawhorses and other tools. One of the two men doing the work would need fairly comprehensive knowledge of construction and carpentry, and the other would need at least the average carpentry skills of a carpenter""s helper to complete the task properly, all of which increases the cost or overhead for the construction or remodeling.
The present invention overcomes this problem by providing a shaped and sized attachment or device for straightening or squaring existing support members, such as studs, joists and/or rafters, each of which respective attachment are adjustable to enable a plurality of such support members to be easily aligned to provide the desired straight and level planar mounting surface for receiving and for affixing the desired exterior finishing member thereon.
The present invention with one relatively simple attachment or device having spaced slots for operative association with adjustable fastening members will enable a user to align and plum a multiplicity of studs, joists or rafters by overcoming nearly all potential problems which may arise from warped, bowed, twisted incorrectly affixed or misaligned studs, joists or rafters found in walls, floors and ceilings in the framing of buildings.
The attachment or devices can be stacked for a given order by the manufacturer, packed and shipped in relatively tight bundles. Conversely, the user of such attachments or devices can purchase, easily transport the purchased quantity of such attachments and devices and can install the same with a minimum of effort using conventional tools and a semi-skilled workman because the spaced slots and the adjustable fastening means allow a given attachment or unit to be adjusted numerous times before it is fixedly connected in the final adjusted position.
Other advantages of the attachment and devices in accordance with the present invention are they can be fastened on either side of the stud, joist or rafter and still be oriented to allow one section thereof to cover the face or front of the stud, joist or rafter which must lie in the plane for establishing the common planar mounting surface. This becomes necessary in the case or archways, corners and blind spots which interfere with hammering the fasteners into position. Further, the attachments or devices are adapted to plum window and door spaces formed in the framing by turning the attachment or devices as a function of the assembly and location and further in the case of window or door openings, the attachments can be used to square and plum such openings or spaces as is more fully described hereafter.
Thus, the present invention covers attachments and devices for straightening and squaring support members, such as studs, joists or rafters having a sized and shaped member with at least a first section or leg having a flat outer surface and a second section or leg having a flat inner surface connected normal to said first section or leg, sized openings formed in spaced relation to each other on said second section or leg, means for connecting the sized and shaped member in operative position on at least one support member, and means on said connecting means for adjustable movement so the sized and shaped member can be adjustably affixed to a support member to provide at least one flat and level outer face thereon and to enable a plurality of the support members to be easily aligned to form an application plane for affixing any desired exterior finishing members thereon.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an attachment or device for straightening and aligning support members such as studs, joists or rafters in a building being constructed or being remodeled which is made of materials that can be pierced by conventional fastening members or cut and then manipulated by conventional carpentry tools.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an attachment or device for straightening and aligning support members such as studs, joists or rafters in buildings being constructed or being remodeled which provides a simple attaching device with an adjustable nail for initially and loosely fastening and holding the attachment or device to the support member so measurements or eyeball determinations can be made to adjust the respective attachments or devices on adjacent studs, joists and rafters to establish a common plane, and thereafter each attachment or device can be firmly secured in its adjusted position to provide the planar mounting or affixation surface for exterior finishing materials.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an attachment or device complying with the construction industry standards which is sized as a function of the length of pre-existing support members such as wooden studs, joists and rafters for walls, floors and ceilings in buildings under construction or being remodeled which are shaped and have connecting means to be adjustably fitted over such support members so as to straighten or provide at least one flat face on such support members to facilitate the formation of a common plane on a plurality of such support members and provide a planar mounting or application surface to which exterior finishing members can be affixed.
It is still another aspect of the present invention to provide an attachment or device for support members such as studs, joists or rafters in buildings being constructed or being remodeled that can be initially loosely secured to a support member and, after appropriate measurements are made, adjusted and then firmly secured in assembled position so that a plurality of support members can be aligned to provide a substantially common plane along the plurality of support members to establish the straight and level application surface needed for affixing the desired exterior finishing members thereto.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a relatively simple method for establishing on existing support members, such as the wooden studs, joists and rafters in buildings, a straight and level application surface for the walls, floors and ceilings in a building which replaces the prior art labor-intensive methods for preparing framed interior sections of buildings to provide the straight and level application surfaces for affixing exterior finishing members thereto.